“These laws, as applied, unequally burden people of color. One in three black men in the U.S. will be incarcerated at some point in his life. More black men are imprisoned in the U.S. today than were enslaved in 1850. Five decades after the Civil Rights movement, black men are still disproportionately arrested, convicted and sentenced.

The effects endure long after a prisoner is released. A prison sentence leaves a permanent scar, denying the ex-offender access to jobs, assistance with food and housing, and in some cases voting rights. Former prisoners and their families can become trapped in a permanent underclass.”

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